1. Field of the Invention
The present disclosure pertains to a pumping agitator for circulating wash liquids between the tub and basket of a clothes washing machine.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The prior art discloses a number of different types of washing machine agitation and liquid flow systems including the following.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,554,229; 2,621,505; and 2,274,402 each disclose a somewhat different liquid circulation system for a washing machine wherein a clothes basket or receptacle contains an agitator for washing clothes in wash liquid within the receptacle while some wash liquid is continuously overflowing the receptacle and a separate pump is utilized to pump this overflow liquid back into the receptacle by way of a filter.
U.S. Pat. Nos. Re. 18,280 and Re. 20,424 each disclose a different form of agitator for circulating wash liquid through the agitator itself in order to create liquid currents within the machine's washing basket for aiding the roll-over pattern of the basket's contents.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,022,655; 3,068,680; 3,330,135; and 3,381,505 each disclose a different form of agitator utilizing pumping vanes for circulating wash liquid through the agitator for wash liquid filtering.
Additionally, U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,744,402; 2,916,900; and 3,543,541 disclose different forms of washing machine agitators each including vanes below or within the skirt portion of the agitator for pumping wash liquid through the agitator for filtering purposes.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,352,130 discloses an agitator including radial downwardly-facing pumping vanes on the bottom of the agitator skirt for inducing a flow of wash liquid from the tub to the basket of an automatic washer through filter openings in the basket; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,626,728 (assigned to the assignee of this invention) discloses an integral basket and agitator wherein the bottom of the basket carries downwardly-facing vanes for inducing wash liquid flow from the washing machine's tub into the basket through holes in the bottom of the basket.
Finally, U.S. Pat. No. 2,722,118 discloses an agitator for an automatic washer having a double skirt portion which defines radial flow passageways therethrough; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,330,135 discloses an agitator including hollow upstanding vanes on a skirt portion of the agitator for defining radial flow passageways through the agitator.